Cross-Country, with a UHaul and a Dog?

Jamie,

After twelve years in NY, my wife and I have decided to pack it up and head back to California (mid-Sept). The only difference this time is instead of two suitcases, we have a 5 bedroom house and dog to bring with us. As most of America, we're on a budget so have opted to drive a u-haul and our car from NYC to Sacramento by way of The Oregon Trail.

First off, your site is great and was a huge help in forming our driving route; however where to stay (with a dog) and restaurant recommendations are a bit of a challenge to secure. To this point, I was wondering if you could elaborate or share any of your thoughts and insights.

We appreciate any/all of your thoughts!

Regards,

Scott, Leyla & Tank


PS- If anyone else reading this blog has ideas, don't be shy! We'll report back when we get to the other end for others in our position.

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Hi Scott & Friends --

Thanks for writing in to Road Trip USA. I'm glad you've enjoyed the website, and I hope you'll check out my book, which is (oddly, counter-intuitively enough...) more accurate and up to date than the web material).

I used to live in Sacramento, and have done the US20 "Oregon Trail" drive many times -- I usually cut down south across Idaho, then follow the US50 "Loneliest Road", via Great Basin and Lake Tahoe, to ensure an awesome arrival back to California. Though pulling a U-Haul, you may prefer to opt for I-80.

On the road, finding a place to you (and Tank) to sleep shouldn't be a problem: most motels accept "well-behaved" pets, sometimes for free, sometimes charging a nominal "cleaning fee". (Motel 6 usually charges an extra $10 a night, I think, and if you are truly on a tight budget Motel 6 may be the way to go. It's hard to beat $40 a night. Plus $2.99 for Wi-Fi... )

I've tried to recommend good restaurants all across my Road Trip USA routes -- but I agree it can be a challenge finding good food between NYC and SF (though Sacramento has come up in the world on that score, at least -- I still love Dos Coyotes)

OK, hope these thoughts help you get back to CA safely and sane.

Happy Trails,


Jamie Jensen
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Road Trip USA

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